Might have been some kind of bomb or explosive.
A faulty hypothesis forming:
A German scientist using Iranian physics and French mathematics.
Most likely an accident, though due to neglect. Apparently 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored at the port of Beirut for years, and officials had been concerned that it should be moved and stored more safely. That type of fertilizer can explode with a source of ignition like a blasting cap or in this case, fireworks going off that had been stored nearby.
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/07/89977...try-s-collapse
Ammonium nitrate was also the cause of the accidental explosion in Texas City in 1947 and the deliberate terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995. With that said, it was fascinating to see the Beirut explosion on video from many different angles, you can find them on YouTube. I had only imagined what those previous explosions looked like in real time, now we know.
So it was both a bomb and an explosive, although an unintentional IED made from an unintentional explosive manufactured for an unrelated purpose, and triggered by an accident to boot.
Man, think about the crap storm of circumstances that had to align perfectly for somebody to get caught up in that.
I bet the first guy to die in it was supposed to have been gone 15 minutes sooner but his taxi cab had a flat on the way to pick him up after running over some small, sharp metal object that fell from an airplane or a satellite or something and landed in the road.
I'd call that a confluence of unfortunate circumstances for sure.
On a plus note, that guy's day surely would have gotten much better after that if he hadn't been dead.
A faulty hypothesis forming:
A German scientist using Iranian physics and French mathematics.
Very similar to the Halifax, Nova Scotia Explosion of 1917, which happened when one ship carrying chemicals, collided with another ship, sparks from a fire caused the chemicals, I think Benzol, to explode, 2,000 people were killed.
Today you could be standing next to someone who is trying their best not to fall apart. So whatever you do today, do it with kindness.
oh thanks Mansfield I'll have to look up the book, and I'll watch the series on youtube. Again thanks for letting me know I am in to disasters like I am True Crime.
Remember when Beirut was called The Paris of the Middle East and Seattle The... Ah, well, guess it's time to will the moolah to the kids and grandkids with the proviso that they use it to book the earliest Elon Musk flight to Mars. Second thought, maybe it's best to put the cash directly into their hands before Joe's handlers, AOC, Ilhan Omar, Antifa and BLM raise the death and inheritance tax to 80 or 90 per.